Got the new Marantz components (SR 8100 a/v reciever and DV 7100 universal player) and did the cable WAR! First off the Marantz pieces are quite a step up from my old Yamaha gear. Took all of about one listening minute to lose that buyer's remorse for shelling out the jingo! Then did a TON of critical listening (and viewing) with various cables and interconnects to see if all this HDMI stuff is just hype or what (both pieces support HDMI). Survey says... HDMI was the CLEAR winner! Cable used was Monster's M1000 (their best HDMI cable). I'd already compared it with other "cheaper" HDMI cables for video and found it superior with my LCOS JVC HDTV so I was really curious as to how it would do for audio. The analog cables used were Zcable Live interconnects (these were smokin good on the Yamaha system), some of the best I've ever used so I was rather disappointed that they were very flat with the Marantz's. Soundstage and depth were just lacking. Then tried good "medium grade" coax and optical for digital. This was an improvement which I found interesting because the Z-cable always outperformed the same digital cables on my Yamaha setup. Everything sounded great to me and I was very happy. Took forever to figure out how to configure the receiver AND universal player to both put out and read HDMI but when it did... PURE is all I can say. Just pure sound, dark deep background with huge soundstage and vocal presence. It's like the recording is in your listening room! Music is very precise and clean. So there you have it. My eyes and ears don't lie - This particular HDMI cable SMOKED them all and I'm going that route. No more jumbled cable mess behind components. Now I need 2 more HDMI cables to complete the setup (dvd and cable box to receiver and receiver to monitor since monitor only has one input). SO I plan to try Belkin's Silver Pure's and directly compared to the pricey Monster (save some jingo since I can get the Belkins deeply discounted). If you don't think there's a difference in cable then you haven't tried the M1000 from Monster. I guarantee you'll see and hear a difference. I hope I'm as impressed with the Belkin's. That report should be in within a week. If you're still an HDMI skeptic... well take the challenge yourself, you can always return them! It's here and NOW! There is no turning back for me.

Cheers,

G MAN